Biological Sciences
Area of Doctoral Study: Molecular and Cellular Biology
Undergraduate Institute: University of Costa Rica
Graduate Institute: University of Science and Technology
Research Advisor: Jeffrey Gardner, Ph.D.
Description of Research
Chitin is the second most abundant biopolymer found on earth and novel efficient ways to degrade chitin through enzymatic hydrolysis would have endless applications. Through my research, I plan to characterize the response of Cellvibrio japonicus to chitin degradation. The focus of my work will be to determine how and when each of these enzymes are acting to efficiently hydrolyze chitin in C. japonicus. My approach will include transcriptomics, functional genetics, genomics and proteomics analysis to advance our understanding of chitin hydrolysis in bacteria.